84291: She is asking about marrying a man who plays soccer (football)

Is marriage to a man who plays soccer on the German team halaal or haraam?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Playing
soccer is permissible subject to certain conditions.

1 – That it
should not be for money, whether it is paid by the two teams, one of them or
by a third party, because it is not permissible to give prizes except for
competitions which help prepare one for jihad, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There should be no
(money) prizes for competitions except archery competitions and races with
camels and horses.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1700), al-Nasaa’i (3585), Abu
Dawood (2575) and Ibn Maajah (2878); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood.

Some
scholars added to these three anything that helps in jihad and propagating
Islam, such as competitions in knowledge of Qur’aan, hadeeth and fiqh, in
which is permissible to offer prizes.

Therefore it
is not permissible to give or take the prizes that are given to those who
win soccer matches and tournaments between two or more teams, and they come
under the heading of forbidden betting.

2 – The game
should not be accompanied by anything haraam, such as uncovering the ‘awrah.
The man’s ‘awrah is the area from the navel to the knee, and it is well
known that most of those who play this game uncover their thighs, but this
is haraam and is not permitted.

3 – The game
should not lead to anything that is haraam, such as missing prayers, or
missing Jumu’ah prayer or prayers in congregation. Unfortunately we say that
many of those who play this game in clubs miss the prayers because of the
matches. It is well known that delaying the prayer beyond its time with no
excuse is a major sin, and it is narrated from a number of scholars that the
one who does that deliberately is a kaafir, so we must be very careful.

This has to
do with the game itself. But if there are tournaments on which money is
spent and people are distracted by them, and waste time because of them, and
they provoke factionalism and both Muslims and kaafirs, righteous and
evildoers are glorified to the extent that a player becomes a role model for
one’s sons and daughters, then this definitely should not be allowed,
because among the ummah there are enough calamities, ignorance and
backwardness to distract them from games on which millions of the people’s
wealth are spent.

Shaykh
Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The basic
principle concerning such games and sports is that they are permissible if
they serve an innocent purpose, as was referred to by Ibn al-Qayyim in his
book al-Faroosiyyah and as was mentioned by Shaykh Taqiy al-Deen Ibn
Taymiyah and others. If that is done as training for jihad and attack and
retreat, or for physical fitness, or to ward off chronic diseases and
strengthen the spirit, then it comes under the heading of permissible
things, if the one who does it has a sound intention. In all cases it is
essential that there be no harm caused to bodies or minds, and that it does
not lead to the grudges and hatred that usually occur between players, and
that it does not distract them from things that are more important, and that
it does not prevent them from remembrance of Allaah (dhikr) or prayer.

But whoever
thinks about these sports as they are played nowadays will find that they
are involve evil things which dictate that they should be disallowed, in
addition to the fact that it is in the nature of the game to create
factionalism and stir up resentment and hatred between the victors and the
losers, this team and that team, as is quite apparent. They are also
accompanied by physical danger for the players as the result of collisions
and fisticuffs. Games hardly ever end without one of them breaking a bone or
being injured or losing consciousness. This is why ambulances are always
present.

The games
also continue during the times of prayer, which results in people not
praying or offering the prayer late.

The players
also uncover their ‘awrah, which is forbidden. The man’s ‘awrah is the area
from the navel to the knee. But you will find that their clothes end at
mid-thigh, and some of them are shorter than that. It is well known that the
thigh is part of the ‘awrah because of the hadeeth: “Cover your thigh for
the thigh is part of the ‘awrah.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2797) and classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said to ‘Ali: “Do not uncover your thigh and do not look at the
thigh of anyone, living or dead.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (4015). And Allaah
knows best.

Playing
football nowadays is accompanied by reprehensible things which mean that
playing it should be disallowed. These things may be summed up as follows:

1 – It is
proven to us that play continues during the times of prayer, which results
in the players and spectators missing prayers or prayers in congregation, or
they delay performing prayers until the time for them is over. Undoubtedly
any action that interferes with performance of prayers on time or leads to
missing prayers in congregation with no valid shar’i excuse is haraam.

2 – The
nature of this game leads to factionalism, stirring up fitnah and hatred.
These results are the opposite of what Islam promotes of tolerance,
friendship and brotherhood, and cleaning hearts and souls of hatred,
resentment and grudges.

3 – The game
involves physical danger for the players as a result of collisions and
injuries. Usually the players do not end the game without some of them
falling on the pitch unconscious or with broken arms or legs. Nothing is
more indicative of that than the fact that there must always be an ambulance
present throughout the game.

4 – The
purpose behind allowing sports is to make people become physically active
and to train them for fighting and to ward off chronic disease. But playing
football nowadays has no such aim. As well as the things mentioned above, it
is now also taking people’s money for false purposes, let alone the danger
of physical injury and the generation of hatred in the hearts of players and
spectators, and the stirring up of fitnah. It has even gone so far that some
spectators attack some players, which could go as far as murder, as happened
in a match a few months ago. This alone is sufficient reason to disallow it.
And Allaah is the source of strength. End quote.

He also
said:

If it is
done in an organized manner [as in the clubs] it seems that it should be
banned altogether, because people becomes deeply involved in it and that
prevents people from remembering Allaah, and it more akin to gambling. They
call it “sport” but it is just a game, and matters of jihad are not like
this, and even if the players have some agility and nimbleness, they are not
able to strive hard in any other field.

It also
involves other things. Some of them offer prizes for it, and this is
gambling. Islam does not allow prizes for anything except competitions which
support the religion and strengthen one for that. If it strengthens Islam
then it is permissible to engage in competitions. In the hadeeth it says:
“There should be no (money) prizes for competitions except archery
competitions and races with camels and horses.” And this applies by analogy
with these three to anything that supports Islam. End quote. Question no.
1950.

He also
said: As for one or two people playing with a ball in an unorganized
fashion, there is nothing wrong with that, because it does not involve
anything haraam. And Allaah knows best. End quote. Question no. 1949.

Secondly:

Having
established this, we do not advise you to marry this soccer player unless he
gives it up, whether he is playing for a local club or a foreign one,
especially since that will result in your moving to live with him in a
kaafir country where there is the risk of temptation for oneself or one’s
children, and it is difficult for a person to maintain his religious
commitment in the environment of that game and in a kaafir country.

You may also
refer to question no. 13363 for more information on living in the land of
the mushrikeen.